Electro-optic devices such as liquid crystal cells are used in optical signal processing to control the passage of light beams through the processor. Optical signal processing is used in laser communication systems, optical recording and reading systems, and optical computing and associated interconnection architecture. Elements commonly used in optical processing systems include lenses for deflecting light along converging paths to a focal point and beam deflectors for deflecting beams along parallel paths.
Liquid crystal (LC) cells can be used in optical processors as beam deflectors or lenses. Although electro-optic devices such as LC cells typically have many desirable characteristics, such as rapid and variable responses, to date electro-optic liquid crystal devices providing such advantages have proved to be rather cumbersome, requiring a large number of LC pixels (e.g., 100 or more independently controlled pixels in a device having a pixel pitch of about 100 .mu.m) with an associated grid of control electronics. Each independently controlled pixel requires an associated driver to generate signals to control the pixel in coordination with other pixels to provide the desired optical wavefront effect.
It is an object of this invention to provide a high quality electro-optic wavefront device that provides both lens and beam deflector capabilities, and is compact, robust, readily fabricated, does not require extensive control electronics, and that efficiently deflects the light passing therethrough.